Ticketmaster Settles Songkick Lawsuit

Ticketmaster has settled its lawsuit with Songkick, agreeing to pay the company’s owners $110 million and acquire its remaining assets.

The settlement draws to a close a two-year legal battle between the two companies that began with claims of anti-competitive behavior and antitrust violations against Ticketmaster and later morphed into a wider case that included allegations that a former Songkick employee hired by Ticketmaster had secretly accessed Songkick’s computer systems while employed at Ticketmaster and quietly monitored the company’s sales and clients. Court documents show Ticketmaster viewed Songkick as a competitive threat that could disrupt the exclusivity system in North America that allowed Ticketmaster to have a dominant marketshare. The case was set to go to trial later this month in Los Angeles federal court.